Chef's Secret: At Main Street Cafe, Apple Cake is sublime

Denise Panichas wrote, "The cake was light and moist with just the right amount of sweetness. It seemed to melt in your mouth."

Denise Panichas wrote, "A friend recommended the Main Street Café. Upon going, I enjoyed one of the best omelets I've tasted in years. But what really caught my attention was a sublime apple cake. The cake was light and moist with just the right amount of sweetness. It seemed to melt in your mouth. Any chance you could ask the owner Alda Cooke for the recipe? I'd like to try it at home. Thanks."

Alda Cooke opened her Main Street Café at 85 Main St., Woonsocket, in 2008. But for the previous 15 years she ran her Kennedy's Lunch on Route 146 in Smithfield.

She is self taught and this isn't the first time she's been told she makes the best omelets. She said that she always uses fresh vegetables for them and they are never greasy and are fluffy as can be. Cooke also makes her own pancake batter.

She's there cooking seven days a week from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m.

As for the Apple Cake, she was happy to share the recipe and she shared a few details to make it even better.

"I put a piece on the grille, but you can do it in a frying pan. This crisps up the apples. Then I top it with ice cream. Delicious."

Alda's Apple Cake

7 medium-sized apples

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

2 cups plus 5 tablespoons sugar, divided use

4 eggs

1 cup of oil

2 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups of flour

1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

Peel apples, cut in fours and remove the core. Then cut each piece into threes.

Pour 1/3 of batter into the pan. Place a layer of apples on top of the batter. Sprinkle it with a third of the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Repeat this procedure twice, ending with a layer of apples sprinkled with the last of the cinnamon and sugar.